Carton protector



June 6, 1950 1.. SCHOTT v13,519,760

' CARTQN PROTECTOR filed Jan. 18, 1946 Z 2 9 flaw uvmvron.

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Patented June 6, 1950 "UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE 2,510,160 CARTON 'rno'rnc'ron Louis Schott, Cincinnati, Ohio Application January 18, 1946, Serial No. 641,891

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a carton-protector, and concerns particularly the preservation of carton bottoms in the interests of safety and convenience of handling.

An object of the invention, in addition to the factors of safety and convenience of handling, is to facilitate the stacking and storing of filled cartons in a warehouse, storage room, or vehicle body, eliminating the danger of disintegration in the presence of moisture or water.

Another object is the conservation of shipping cartons constructed of cardboard or paper-board materials, and the preservation thereof for repeated usage.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a carton, with a carton protector of the invention disposed in readiness for application to the carton bottom.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view showing a modified form of carton protector permanently applied to a carton, this being a modification of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken transversely through a carton, and showing another modified form of carton protector applied thereto.

As is well known, standard shipping cartons are constructed of corrugated paper-board or cardboard, and the flaps which constitute the tops and bottoms of the cartons usually are either stapled or glued together in completing the cartons. Such cartons are generally loaded with canned food and other goods of considerable weight, which rests rather heavily uponthe bottoms of the cartons. It sometimes happens that cartons filled with relatively heavy objects are subjected to moisture during shipment or storage periods, with the result that the bottoms are so weakened or disintegrated that subsequent handling involves the risk and danger of having the contents fall through and escape from the bottoms of the cartons.

A carton which may disintegrate during storage or handling not only loses its value as a container, but also constitutes a thread to the safety and well-being of persons who are required to handle it. Heavy objects falling through a disintegrated carton bottom while being carried by a workman or other handler, may easily result in bodily injury or other accidents of a serious One of the primary objectives of the present invention is to reduce to a minimum the likelihood of accidents resulting from disintegration of cartons during shipment, handling, or storage thereof while filled with objects which are more or less heavy in weight. It is necessary, of course, that the objectives of the invention be accomplished without prohibitive expense, and preferably with a saving of expense effected by repeated usage of cartons made possible by their preservation.

In accordance with the invention, any ordinary carton is provided with a protector which embraces the bottom thereof and provides additional support for the weight of the carton contents. In Fig. 1, for example, the carton 4 of standard size and shape is adapted to rest upon a protector 5 comprising a substantially planar bottom 6 provided with upright flanges 1 peripherally thereof, said flanges being adapted to embrace the lower margins of all the carton side walls 8. The substantially planar bottom of the carton protector may be reinforced in any suitable manner, if desired, by providing it with spaced ribs or corrugations 9. The reinforcing of planar surfaces such as 6 may be accomplished in various ways, as by extending the ribs lengthwise, crosswise, radially or in other directions in accordance with common practices.

In that form of the protector illustrated by Fig. 1, the flanges I stand obliquely upon the marginal portions of the bottom 6, at an acute angle to the latter,'so that the protector may be said to resemble a shallow truncated pyramid. At the four corners ll] of the carton protector, the material of the flanges is cut away to substantially the plane of the bottom so as to provide corner drains or drain openings for water or moisture. By reason of thestructure as specified and illustrated in Fig. 1, the obliquely inclined flanges forming the sides of the protector constitute clinch walls having a limited amount of flexibility such as to grip the lower margins of the carton side walls while the bottom 0 I! of the carton rests upon the bottom 6 of the carton protector. It should be understood that the protector is applied to the carton bottom by slightly flexing the clinch walls I outwardly in introducing the carton into the confines of the protector walls. Once the protector has been applied to a carton as just explained, the clinching action of the walls or flanges 1 serves to retain the protector in position upon the carton bottom.

The carton protector is to be fabricated from slightly flexible and durable water-repellent sheet material of a kind which possesses the quality of retaining a basic shape or configuration imparted thereto. Examples of such material are sheet metal, and plastics or compositions of varians types. The material used should preferably possess a limited amount of inherent resiliency, so that the clinch walls or flanges I might be slightly flexed outwardly to permit introduction of the carton, without destroying the clinching function of the walls or flanges. A highly satisfactory material for use in fabricating the carton protector, is aluminum, or a light gauge sheet iron or sheet steel suitably treated as by means of galvanizing or the like, to prevent or minimize corrosion. The device might be constructed of hard rubber sheet material or other waterproof plastics if reasonable in price, as will be appreciated.

In accordance with the modification illustrated by Fig. 2, the carton of distintegratable material, indicated at I3, has the carton protector 5 applied and permanently fixed thereto by means of staples or other fasteners 14. The assembly of Fig. 2 diifers from that of Fig. 1 only in the permanency of application of the carton protector. It will be noted that the corner drains in provide for the escape of water, moisture, or condensation which would weaken the paper-board or cardboard bottom of the carton and possibly permit escape of the contents, except for the presence of the protector 5. Any desired form of fastener may be substituted for the staples shown at H, which penetrate the flanges 1 of the protector and the adjacent upright walls of the carton.

In the modification illustrated by Fig. 3, a carton of cardboard or paper-board is indicated by the character l5, and includes the usual closing flaps l6 and I! but omits the customary bottom flaps. The protector for this bottomless carton may be fabricated from the same type of sheet material mentioned in describing Figs. 1 and 2, and will comprise a substantially flat bottom panel approximating in' size the inside dimensions of carton IS, the bottom panel being circumscribed by a continuous downwardly turned flange I9 formed to provide a circumferential recess 20 and an upright circumferential wall 2|. Flange l9 and wall 2| are arranged in spaced parallelism and connected at their lower edges by a recess base portion 22, the space within the recess being of a width approximating the thickness of material constituting the upright walls of carton [5. The lower edges of the carton walls are forced into the circumferential recess of the carton protector so as to furnish a closed joint along the four sides of the carton. To hold the protector in place upon the carton, suitable fasteners may be applied penetrating the upright walls 2| of the protector, and the adjacent upright walls of the carton. Although the fastener 23 illustrated is in the form of a staple clinched at 24, it is to be understood that any other form of fastener might be employed in effecting the necessary connection. The construction illustrated results in the formation of a raised bottom for the carton, which keeps the contents of the carton sufliciently spaced from a floor or other supporting surface, to preclude damage thereto by water or other foreign substances contacting the base portion 22 of the carton. The bottom l8 of the protector may be suitably ribbed or otherwise reinforced as previously explained in the description of Figs. 1 and 2. The corners of the Fig. 3 protector may or may not be cut away as at ill of Fig. 2, this being a matter of relative immateriality to the structure illustrated by Fig. 3. If desired, the corners of the Fig. 3 carton protector may be formed with closed joints, as by means of welds or crimps applied thereto in accordance with common practice.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that disintegratable cartons furnished with protectors as specified herein, may be safely handled, stacked, or transported without the risk and danger of having the contents fall through the carton bottom, particularly if the bottom should become moist or damp and thereby weakened so as to fall in supporting the weight of the carton contents. Cartons so protected may be used repeatedly for the packaging of various types of goods, thereby resulting in a substantial saving to the packer or merchandiser.

Various modifications and changes in the structural details of the carton protector may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. In Fig. 1, the character 25 indicates a closed joint secured by means of staples or other fasteners 28. The top closure flaps for the carton are indicated by the characters 2|2| and What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a shipping carton including side walls, a top, and a bottom of waterdisintegratable paper-like material and a protector for the water disintegratable bottom of the protector, the protector comprising a resilient sheet of metal forming abottom portion approximately equal in size to the dimensions of the carton bottom, and vertical clinch flanges at the sides of said protector bottom, said flanges being inclined inwardly and gripping the carton side walls resiliently and releasably to hold the protector bottom in place beneath the bottom of the carton.

2. In combination, a shipping carton including side walls, a top, and a bottom of water-disintegratable paper-like material and a protector for the water disintegratable bottom of said carton, said protector comprising a resilient sheet of metal forming a bottom portion approximately equal in size to the dimensions of the carton bottom and a plurality of upstanding clinch flanges at the sides of said protector bottom, said flanges being inclined inwardly and gripping the carton side walls resiliently and releasably to hold the protector bottom beneath and against the bottom of the carton, the protector bottom being provided with a plurality of ridges and valleys, the carton bottom resting on the ridges of the protectorbottom, the valleys providing channels underlying the carton bottom, the clinch flanges being spaced to provide drain openings for water accumulating in the valleys of the protector bottom.

LOUIS SCHO'I'I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 654,255 Hunter July 24,- 1900 918,138 Flora Apr. 13, 1909 954,104 Jenkins Apr. 5, 1910 1,270,294 Hofman June 25, 1918 1,794,821 Andrews Mar. 3, 1931 1,862,301 Drexler June '7, 1932- 2,028,136 'Claff Jan. 21, 1936 2,097,917 Frederick Nov. 2, 1937 2,389,601 DeWitt Nov. 27, 1945 

